HOUSE prices dropped by 1.8% in the Scottish Borders in July, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 7.3% annual growth.

The average the Scottish Borders house price in July was £195,746, Land Registry figures show, a 1.8% decrease in June.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across Scotland, where prices increased 0.6%, and the Scottish Borders underperformed compared to the 2% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the Scottish Borders rose by £13,000 – putting the area 29th among Scotland’s 32 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

Owners of detached houses fared worst in the Scottish Borders in July – they dropped 2.2% in price, to £337,685 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 9.6%.

Among other types of property:

Semi-detacheddown 1.6% monthly; up 8.3% annually; £202,942 average, Terraced: down 1.6% monthly; up 7.6% annually; £167,644 average and flats: down 1.6% monthly; up 4.2% annually; £106,191 average.

First-time buyers in the Scottish Borders spent an average of £152,100 on their property – £9,400 more than a year ago, and £32,200 more than in July 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £230,900 on average in July – 51.8% more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 1.4% more than the average price in Scotland (£193,000) in July for a property in the Scottish Borders.

Across Scotland, property prices are roughly the same as those across the UK, where the average cost £292,000.